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Asparagus flagellaris Baker

Species

Angiosperms > Asparagales > Asparagaceae > Asparagus

Characteristics

Erect shrub to 2(– 3) m high, rarely climbing to 4 m high; branches terete or grooved, smooth to lined with straight or curved spines 3– 5 mm long, these also on terminal branches, glabrous to pubescent.. Cladodes in fascicles of 4– 10(– 14), subulate, stiff, 5– 30(– 60) mm long.. Flowers axillary, solitary or paired; bracts overlapping, ovate, 1.5× 1 mm, acute at apex; pedicels 5– 10 mm long, articulated below the middle, closer to the base.. Tepals white to purple (pink), ± equal, 2– 3 mm long; stamens shorter than the perianth; anthers white or cream, 0.3 mm long; ovary 3-locular with 1– 2 ovules in each locule; style ± 1 mm long, slender; stigma 3-branched.. Berry orange-red, 6– 9 mm in diameter with 1(– 3) seeds.. Fig. 2: 1– 5 (page 16).
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An erect shrub. It grows 2 m tall. It has swollen root tubers. The branches may have spines. The branches arch over. The stems are grey white and without hairs. The leaves are small and like scales. There are leafy needle like structures in clusters along the stem. These have spines that curve back and with white spurs growing beside them. The stems are densely covered with needles 2 cm long. The flowers are white and 4 mm across. They have a scent. They are in groups of 2 or more on flowering stems. The fruit are small orange berries. They are round and have 1 seed.
Climbing or more or less erect plant with arching spiny branchlets
Fruits orange when ripe.
Flowers white, fragrant
Life form perennial
Growth form
Growth support climber
Foliage retention evergreen
Sexuality
Pollination entomogamy
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 2.25
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months -
Fruit color
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

A tropical plant. In Tanzania it grows in wooded grasslands at low and medium altitudes. It grows in savannah woodland, palm groves and woodland. It grows up to 2,100 m above sea level and in areas with 1,000-1,800 mm rainfall.
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Thickets and woodland in the savannah. Wooded grasslands at low and medium elevations, up to 2,100 metres.
Light 4-9
Soil humidity 1-6
Soil texture 1-6
Soil acidity 3-7
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 9-12

Usage

The young shoots are edible. The fleshy root tubers are eaten after several hours cooking. The fruit are sucked to get the juice from the fruit.
Uses animal food environmental use food gene source medicinal poison social use wood
Edible fruits roots shoots tubers
Therapeutic use -
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Plants can be grown from seeds or root suckers.
Mode seedlings
Germination duration (days) 21 - 30
Germination temperacture (C°) 15 - 21
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment soaking
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Distribution

Asparagus flagellaris world distribution map, present in Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique, Mauritania, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Chad, Togo, Tanzania, United Republic of, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:531107-1
WFO ID wfo-0000632591
COL ID 5VTL6
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Asparagus flagellaris Asparagus pauli-guilelmi Asparagus schweinfurthii Asparagus somalensis Asparagopsis flagellaris Asparagus abyssinicus Asparagus africanus var. abyssinicus Asparagus pauli-guilelmii var. katangensis Asparagus pauli-guilelmii var. daltonii
WorldFloraDB 2024